Aviation safety expert named Dreamworld's new engineering boss

An aviation safety expert has been appointed Dreamworld’s new general manager of engineering, in a bid to raise the embattled theme park’s engineering safety levels.

Ben Hogan, an aviation safety expert with more than 18 years' experience, takes the role ahead of the expected release of coroner James McDougall’s findings into the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy.

New Dreamworld general engineering manager Ben Hogan.

Four people died and many others were traumatised after a raft on the Thunder River Rapids Ride collided with another and flipped over, killing Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, Roozi Araghi and Luke Dorsett.

The ride was decommissioned following the tragedy and an inquest into the incident began last year, hearing from nearly 100 witnesses including ride operators, experts and Dreamworld engineers and technicians.

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The coroner concluded hearings in December last year and is expected to release his findings in the coming months.

Mr Hogan said his focus in the role would be on reviewing all existing rides and the theme park’s standards and appearance.

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“Aviation is one of the safest industries in the world thanks to strict governance and regulations,” he said in a statement released by Dreamworld.

“Aviation has provided me with a great skillset that is quite transferable to this industry, so when the opportunity came up for me to share what I've learned over the past 20 years in aviation ... to an industry that is going through some pivotal change at the moment ... is a great opportunity.

“My focus will be on continuing compliance, reliability, park standards and asset management.”

Last week Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace announced demanding new safety measures for theme parks and amusement rides, flagging the changes ahead of the coroner’s report.

The laws mandate inspections of rides by qualified engineers every 10 years, proper record-keeping of inspections, maintenance and operator training, and a new safety and licensing system for major amusement parks.

“This will provide certainty for consumers and tourists and consistency across the industry,” Ms Grace said.

“We have also employed three extra engineers within Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to oversee these strict new requirements.

“We announced we’d be making changes along these lines in August last year and have been consulting with key stakeholders.”

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Mr Hogan began his role at Dreamworld in January, having previously worked as the director of safety systems for Tigerair Australia and head of engineering for Cebu Pacific Air.

He has also worked at Jetstar as a fleet manager and engineer, and Quantas as an engineer.

Overseeing a team of 115 staff, Mr Hogan takes responsibility for the engineering and maintenance of all of Dreamworld’s rides, new and old.

The coronial inquest hearings last year heard of numerous failings from Dreamworld’s governance, engineering department and external contractors, including the signing off of the Thunder River Rapids Ride as safe weeks before the tragedy.

Dreamworld committed to implementing all of the coroner’s expected recommendations once released.